A coalition of 72 press freedom and human rights organisations has written to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, urging him to intervene to secure the release of imprisoned British publisher and pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai.
The letter, coordinated by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and signed by groups including PEN International, ARTICLE 19 and Index on Censorship, expresses “profound concern” over the 77-year-old’s deteriorating health after more than 1,680 days in solitary confinement in Hong Kong.
The intervention comes as Lai’s marathon national security trial resumed this week with closing arguments. Proceedings were twice postponed last week, once because of typhoon weather and once because of concerns over Lai’s health after he suffered heart palpitations and episodes in which he felt close to collapse. His lawyers say he has lost significant weight and remains at risk of life-threatening complications.
Held since his arrest in August 2020, Lai faces charges of “collusion with foreign forces” under the Beijing-imposed National Security Law (NSL). If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison. His case has already stretched far beyond the original 80-day timetable, with more than 140 hearing days spread across nearly two years.
It was against this backdrop that Lai’s barrister, Robert Pang, mounted his closing defence in a Hong Kong courtroom. Pang said his client was guilty of nothing more than voicing opinions, or, as he put it, “armchair punditry”. “He’s commenting on world affairs as if over the dim sum table,” Pang told the court. “It’s not a request for Xi Jinping to step down.”
Earlier in the hearings, Pang reminded the judges: “It is not wrong to support freedom of expression. It is not wrong to support human rights. It is not wrong to try to persuade the government to change its policy. Nor is it wrong not to love a particular administration or even the country, because you can’t force someone to think in one way or another.”
The coalition letter calls on the UK government to act with urgency. Britain’s responsibility is underlined by its role as signatory of the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration. The UK government itself has described Lai’s prosecution as a breach of that treaty, which was meant to guarantee Hong Kong’s autonomy and freedoms after the handover.
In December 2023, then-Foreign Secretary David Cameron said he was “gravely concerned” by the trial and called for the NSL’s repeal. Since Labour’s election victory in 2024, ministers have reiterated that Lai’s case remains a “priority”, with Indo-Pacific Minister Catherine West raising it directly with Hong Kong officials and Foreign Secretary David Lammy pressing the matter in Beijing. When Rachel Reeves visited China in January 2025, the Treasury’s official read-out says she “raised” Lai’s case.
However, in their letter, campaigners argue that “the time for statements has passed”. They urge Starmer to act now to secure Lai’s urgent humanitarian release on medical grounds, so that he may reunite with his family in the United Kingdom and receive the care he needs.
That demand echoes the frustration of his family. Sebastien Lai, Jimmy’s son, has been vocal, describing efforts to lobby London as an uphill battle and accusing the UK government of showing “weakness” toward China by failing to take sufficient action to secure his father’s release.
Read the full letter here.
